The Street Dogs At The Masquerade
Friday, December 18th, 2009
By Josh Fritz.
It was a cold Saturday night in Atlanta on the 12th of December, but don’t tell that to anybody who was downstairs in the Masquerade that night. A hardcore punk show was getting started and the audience was ready to burn some of the energy that they had stored inside of them. The Street Dogs were headlining the show, with the billed guests listed as Radio Nowhere, Stigma and Roger Miret & The Disasters. There were also two Marines staged directly inside of the door, collecting toys and money for the Toys For Tots drive. When I arrived, they already had a stack of toys sitting next to the door, so that was a pleasant thing to see.
Radio Nowhere came on around 7:45 and immediately went into their set. Looking online, I was unable to find anything of a discernible nature that detailed their progress through the punk world. They reminded me of a more organized Ramones, but the band did not seem as though they were very comfortable on the stage. They obviously loved what they did, as it came through in the passion with which they played, but my feeling was fear of rejection by the audience hindered their ability to play to the crowd as well as they could have. I assume this is easily fixed through continuing to work on their craft and play in front of larger and larger crowds. Good things will happen for this band and they played a very solid half hour set. Looking back in the merchandise area, I was unable to find anything available with their name on it.
… The Street Dogs were headlining the show, with the billed guests listed as Radio Nowhere, Stigma and Roger Miret & The Disasters …
Next, it was a band that was billed as Stigma, but they called themselves New York Blood. The lead singer, Vinnie Stigma and the bassist, Mike Gallo, are also members of Agnostic Front and their experience on the stage came through during the show. They started their set around 8:45 and continued to play for forty-five minutes, jamming as much New York hardcore as they could into that time and upholding the sound of Agnostic Front and other bands that came before them. They seemed very gracious to be asked to come along for the show and play along side of the other bands. Most of their set came from their CD, New York Blood, which was also available at the merchandise booth in the back. A lot of the crowd seemed to be into the show, with the circle pit beginning to come together and with Vinnie Stigma egging them on, it didn’t take long for others to join. At the end of their set, they thanked the crowd again, as well as the Marines and the other bands that were there.
… The spectators were asked to go to the back of the venue, with the rest of the crowd invited to throw down in the circle pit. Only a handful of people stayed in the back …
Right around the time that Stigma finished their set, the crowd was starting to grow in size. What had started out with around fifty people when I walked in had quickly grown to two hundred plus people and there were still more coming through the door.
Next on the bill was Roger Miret & The Disasters. Roger is also the lead singer for the punk band, Agnostic Front. Their set was marred from the start, with heavy feedback coming as soon as Roger Miret went to the microphone. It was tough to hear them at times and there seemed to be some sort of argument arising between Roger and the lead guitarist, Rhys Kil. They flew through the rest of their set, with Roger making no attempt to play to the crowd while he was on stage with his solo band, whom he called Possessed. Around 10:15, he called up Vinnie Stigma and Mike Gallo, handing each of them their particular instruments. The rest of The Disasters were chased off the stage and immediately, the Masquerade exploded, they knew that they were experiencing something special. Three-quarters of Agnostic Front had come together and they were going to play for the crowd. From their entire set, this is the part that stood out for me. The three of them obviously loved playing together and just before leaving the stage at 10:30, Roger told the crowd that Agnostic Front would be coming through in May.
… “You are all brothers and sisters, through music. You can make a friend or an enemy tonight. Just make it easy, all of you here are friends…”
The headliners of the night, the Street Dogs, came on around 10:45 and immediately jumped into their first song. The Street Dogs are an Irish-punk band founded in Boston and this shows through their musical talents. The rest of the band’s current line-up is from the mid-west, but seem to sincerely enjoy playing along side Mike McColgan, former lead singer of the Dropkick Murphys. They played a variety of music from their four-deep discography, including a cover of a Pogues song that they dedicated to all of the punk bands that came before them. Mike seemed to be sincerely happy the entire night. Inviting everybody in the crowd to meet them after the show, thanking the Marines for all that they do, as well as thanking the rest of the Armed Forces and wishing them a safe trip home. The energy that had been building all night came to a head when they started with the song Two Angry Kids, when Mike told the crowd that there were two types of people. Spectators and those that feel the music. The spectators were asked to go to the back of the venue, with the rest of the crowd invited to throw down in the circle pit. Only a handful of people stayed in the back, with the crowd all coming together to show their camaraderie for the punk world. They finished out the show and had a one-song encore, thanking the crowd for coming out and once again inviting them to visit them at the merchandise table.
… Four hours of live music, for less than the price of dinner and a movie. Energy and fun came together …
An energetic, fun show came to the Masquerade that cold December night. But, through music, everybody came together as one. Mike McColgan said it best, towards the end of the set, “You are all brothers and sisters, through music. You can make a friend or an enemy tonight. Just make it easy, all of you here are friends…” Four hours of live music, for less than the price of dinner and a movie. Energy and fun came together, including a momentary visit to the past with Agnostic Front. Punk shows are always a great experience and this one definitely did not disappoint.
Tags: 12th of December 2009, Agnostic Front, Agnostic Front lead singer Roger Miret, Armed Forces, Dropkick Murphys, hardcore punk, Irish-punk band, Marines, Mike Gallo, Mike McColgan, New York Blood, New York hardcore, Possessed, punk bands, Radio Nowhere, Ramones, Rhys Kil lead guitarist The Disasters, Roger Miret, Roger Miret & The Disasters, Stigma, Street Dogs Two Angry Kids, The Disasters, The Masquerade, The Masquerade Atlanta, The Street Dogs, The Street Dogs At The Masquerade, Theodore Nathaniel Darrow, Toys For Tots, Vinnie Stigma
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